Lather churn



Nav. 22, 1949 G. C. MUMFORD LATHER CHURN Filed Aug. 29, 1949 TrufenTbr ($902396 67 Mum/6rd w mnvm, Qflfib vme ys Patented Nov. 22,1949

UNITED STATES @FEIC a RATHER GeorgevCnMiimford, Earclimont; ,N.'.Y'.i AipplicatiomAugust 29, 1949-3 1SerialENoa112;948 7 IClaimsa- (Cl. 259.99)

Thisinventiomrelates-toriatherrchurnsiandihas particular relation: tor-an; improved: lather churn which is specially adapted to form a heavyflather by ifmgeri manipulation of. the user.

The lather churn of :thepresentzinvention gene eral-ly: comprises acup3-shaped:'containerrcontaine ing a sponge, the sponge being.sprovidedzwith'; a verticallypositionedzfin-gerzhole adaptedto'receive aafinger of the-user; whereby "finger manipulation in: the-P finger hole-1 results .ins: the formation 1 of lather when a saponifiablecompo-und is in the container and in-= its preferredi form:v includes =ia perforated resilient' sleeve liningthefinger hole to protect the spongefrom mutilation by con tinued finger manipulation. In another form; the invention generally comprises a cup-shaped container'h'aving an inturned rimto-retard"withdrawal of the' sponge,- the rim having anoutwardly and=upward1y extendingfi-ange-to' provide storage space for the lather createdl'and to-"pre vent overflow thereof-I An object of the invention is to provide a-lather churn I which isadapted to mix water and air with a saponifiablecompound" such as sh'aving cream; shaving powder, liquid soap; or solid soap by finger manipulation of th'e user so as-to'create a foamy-lather:

Another object" of the invention is to" provide alather: churn which will accomplish the afore= mentioned object and which wilPbe 'ofrelatively small, simple, .durable and inexpensive construc= tion;

Still another. objectsofzrthexinvention is to provide a lather churn which will accomplish the foregoing objects and which will provide a storage space for retaining the lather formed in the device readily available for use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lather churn which may be readily disassembled for cleaning or sterilizing purposes.

These and other objects of the invention will be better understood by reference to the following description and accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a partially exploded view of the form of the invention shown in Fig. 1 with the elements partially broken away in section.

Referring now to the drawings, the lather churn in the present invention includes a cup-shaped container I!) having an inturned rim II in which a generally doughnut-shaped sponge 20 is positioned. It will be apparent that the inturned rim I I serves -toiretain :the sponge within the cupshapedfl'etainerr Ill duringenormahuse although the sponge? :2 0;: mayabe; withdrawn from the --container: I Ii compressing (the :1-SI3IO1'1- The rim I I :I i of. the container: :I Ibis preferably'provided rwith an upwardly; andaoutwardly'fextending flange I 2 which: is* showmin the form-voft' a" bell-shaped mouthtopening: Although-the"container Iflewith fiangefllmay be unitanyginpractice it has been foundradvantageonsstowjoinl the Tim-ll I -of-:the con.- tainer IE] and the flange-r I2; at? their; adjacent edgesi-bymeansof a: collars-1 3l-whichvis maintained onethe :inturned-l edge theisrim and 5 provided withaaeperipherali: groove: I 4",: said groove ebeing engagea'blezwith thesadj'acent edges oft-the: rim" I I andi fiangetl'zzforsecuringihiamtogether:. In this fermiontheiinventionrthe angeifurther-servesito maintaintthe': sponge? 20cm :positionz-inqtheri con= tainer III.

In the preferred formysthez'container."Ilh and flange-'- I2 are preferably? formed of? aaresilient pliable m'aterial,isuch fassrubben Preferablythe collar I3 is formed; of? a; nons-resilient'r molded plastic;.althoughiitiwillxbeiunderstoodithata:resil ient plastic material-Lor' airesilient'irubber maysbe usedsto" form thez collan:

The lather forming element generally comiprises a, doughnut-shaped rsponge 20; as :of rubber, havingi a vertically positioned-i fmgertholefi 2 I: In a' -preferred-iformtthesfinger hole 2tls islined with a resilient sleeve 22 having"amumbeniorperforae tions- -2 3 to: permit com munication iof' theasoap, water and airtb'etweemsponge 'zfl andr thez finger hole 2|. The sleeve 22 is preferably provided at its lower edge with an outwardly extending flange 24 to prevent withdrawal of the sleeve during normal use. As shown in the drawing, the upper edge of the resilient sleeve 22 may be provided with an outwardly extending flange 25 whereby the flanges 24 and 25 engage the sponge 20 to prevent relative movement therebetween and to prevent withdrawal of the resilient sleeve 22 during normal use of the device. The resilient sleeve 22 is preferably formed of soft pliable rubber. The sleeve element also may be formed integrally by hardening the surface of the finger hole 2 I, as by vulcanization.

In operation, the cup-shaped container I0 may be conveniently held in one hand of the user with the bell-shaped flange I2 at the top. A small amount of water is placed in the cup to saturate the sponge and a suitable quantity of saponifiable compound is placed in the finger hole 2|. The saponifiable compound may be in the form of a pellet adapted to fit into the bottom part of the and air into a foamy lather.

finger hole. The forefinger of the other hand of the user is inserted in the finger hole 2| and rotated to blend the saponifiable compound, water On continued manipulation, the lather will tend to rise upwardly out of the cup H! and will lie exposed for use in the bell-shaped flange area l2. It will be apparent that the inturned rim H and the cup will maintain the sponge 20 in the cup during use. It will also be apparent that the sleeve 22 will be retained in the finger hole 2! during manipulation by virtue of the lower flange 24 and that this retarding effect may be increased by providing an upper flange 25 and that the sponge 26 will be engaged therebetween. If desired the resilient sleeve 22 may be glued in the finger hole 2| to prevent rotary movement thereof relative to the sponge during manipulation.

It is desired to point out that one of the essential features of the present invention comprises the provision of a finger hole 2| in the sponge lather-forming element 29. It is also desired to point out that another important feature of the present invention is the provision of the upwardly and outwardly extending flange l2 to provide a storage space for the lather as it is created by finger manipulation. Still another important feature is the provision of the resilient perforated sleeve 22 lining the finger hole 2| so as to prevent mutilation of the sponge element 26 by continued finger manipulation.

It will be apparent that the present invention is subject to other modifications than those shown in the preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawing and described in the specification and it is intended that all such modifications within the realm of those skilled in the art come within the purview of the present invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A lather churn comprising a cup-shaped container and a sponge in said container, said sponge being provided with a vertically positioned finger hole adapted to receive a finger of. the user whereby finger manipulation in the finger hole results in the formation of lather when a saponifiable compound is in the container.

2. The lather churn set forth in claim 1 including a perforated resilient sleeve lining said finger hole to protect said sponge from mutilation by the finger of the user.

3. The lather churn set forth in claim 1 including a perforated resilient sleeve lining said finger hole to protect said sponge, said sleeve having an outwardly extending flange on the bottom edge thereof engaging said sponge to prevent withdrawal of the sleeve from the borehole by the finger of the user.

4. The lather churn set forth in claim 1 including a perforated resilient sleeve lining said finger hole to protect said sponge, said sleeve having an outwardly extending flange at each end thereof engaging said sponge to prevent movement thereof relative to said sponge.

5. A lather churn comprising a cup-shaped container having an inturned rim to retard withdrawal of its contents, said rim having an outwardly and upwardly extending flange to provide storage space for the lather created and to prevent overfiow thereof, and a sponge in said container, said sponge being provided with a vertically positioned finger hole adapted to receive a finger of the user whereby finger manipulation in the finger hole results in the formation of lather when a saponifiable compound is in the container.

6. A lather churn comprising a cup-shaped container having an inturned rim to retard withdrawal of its contents, a collar mounted internally on said rim, an outwardly and upwardly extending flange mounted on said collar to provide storage space for the lather created and to prevent overflow thereof, and a sponge in said container, said sponge being provided with a vertically positioned finger hole adapted to receive a finger of the user whereby finger manipulation in the finger hole results in the formation of lather when a saponifiable compound is in the container.

'7. A lath-er churn comprising a cup-shaped container having an inturned rim to retard withdrawal of its contents, an outwardly and upwardly extending flange to provide storage space for the lather created and to prevent overflow thereof, said rim and said flange being joined by a peripherally grooved collar engageable with adjacent edges of said rim and said flange for securing them together and a sponge in said container, said sponge being provided with a vertically positioned finger hole adapted to receive a finger of the user whereby finger manipulation in the finger hole results in the formation of lather when a saponifiable compound is in the container.

GEORGE C. MUMFORD.

No references cited. 

